Aeroplane.



J. A. WILLIAMS.

AEROPLAN-E. APPLICATION FILED Nov.1, 1909. RBNBWED 11111.27, 1912.

1,027,954, y Patented May 28, `1912.

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Specification oi' Letters Patent.

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Application filed. November 1, 1909, Serial No. 525,657. Renewed January 27', 1912. Serial No. 673,920.

-To all A'whom t may concern.'

Be it known -that I, JOSEPH A. WILLIAMS, av citizen of the United States, residing at- Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Aeroplanes, of which the followin is a full, clear, and eX- act description, .reference being had to lthe accompanying drawings.' f

This invent-ion relates generally to air ships of the aeroplane type, and it has special reference t0 the shape of the plane used inI such ships.A

Heretofore, designers and builders of aeroplanes have generally proceeded on the ,theory of beating one or more inclined planes against the air, relying upon the vertical component of the resisting force encountered for lifting the air ship. In my invention, I may utilize to some extent the, same principle, butl I secure the main part of .the lifting and sustaining actio byfso shaping the plane as tocreate a partial vacuum' over the upper surface of the planal whereby the' atmospheric pressure from beneath buoys up; the ship.

The ohjeetiof riiy invention, therefore, is that is so shaped air, or the movement of thevair past the plane, results 1n creating a difference 1n pressure above and below theplane, whereby the lship is lifted and sustained. More v specifically stated, I `forni the plane in the general shape of a trough having an open top and having the front end narrowed, so that the air entering the frontr end of the trough is rareiied as it expands to fill the Wider parts of the trough. Of course, the air rushes in to establish equilibrium of pressure, and the variation in pressure diminishes Atoward the rear end of the plane. To retard the inuX of the air as much as practicable, I provide the trough with considerable depth even at its front end, and

4gradually increase the depth toward the rear end. y

In the drawings forming a part of this application, Figure l is a general perspective-view showing an air ship provided with my form -of plane, and Figs. 2 and 3 .are front and side elevations respectively of the plane.

In the drawings, I have shown all the parts of the air ship, with the exception of the plane, conventionally, and theparticw plane through the such parts may' be terna-l combustion engine.

The car l is'suspended by suitable cables lfrom the plane of the air ship,` sai plane, as illustrated, consisting of a flat' central o1' bottom portion 3 and side portionst, the said side portions being shown as inclined somehat from theperpendicular to vthe botto` ngisueh construction topped trough. The bottom portion 3 of the Itrough has its narrowest width at the front end, the drawings showing such portion as graduaily widening from the front to the rearnvhereby a wedge-shaped trough is, produced. sThe side portions 4 may also increase in depth from thefront to the rear, ',-foigga purpose hereinafter set forth. The "parts of the plane should be rigid with respect to one another and, for this purpose, bars or braces' acrossfrom the upper edges of the side portions /i' of the plane.' By suspending the car below the plane, stability of the ship is secured, whichstability is increased by inclining the sideportions outwardly, it being obvious that if the should tilt toward one side, that side presents an increasing resistance which has the tendency of righting the ship again.

Journaled in suitable bearings 6 and 7 is the propeller shaft 8, the bearings for the shaft being supported in any suit-able manner, as by bra ies' 9 extending from the angles of the tro gh inwardly and from certain of the cross bars 5 downwardly. The

forming an openo are extended at intervals .ship in descending shaft carries a propeller l0 at its rear endf.

and a sprocket' wheel 1l at its front end,

the motor 2.

Suitable rudders, not shown, may be provided for directing the course of the ship.

The operation of the device. just described is'as follows: Any suitable means known in the art may be employed i'or securing the initial movement of the ship through the air.fsueh means of course being supplemented bythe operation of the propeller l0, which isv so positioned as to draw the air backwardly out of the trough. lVhen the ship said wheel being driven by a chain l2 from tends to establish equilibrium of pressure with the outside air. To prevent this inlrush of air as much as practicable, the sides 4L are made of considerable depth, and may be gradually increased in depth from the front to the rear. If the relative movement between the ship and the air is very high, any plane of air ywhich is cut by the front end of the aeroplane will have passed beyond the rear end of the plane before the 11i-rushing air can have established equilibrium. In such a ease, the lifting action due to the rarefaction of the air is much greater than when a slow relative movement between the air and the plane is maintained. To assist in rarefying the 'air within the trough, the propeller is placed at the rear end of the latter so as to draw the air from the trough.

While the .drawings show the side p0rtions 4 ofthe trough as slightly inclined from the perpendicular to the bottom porltion 3, this angle may be varied. The drawings also show the angle of these side portions as constant from the front to the rear. This is not a necessary feature of construction, as the angle ot inclination from the -perpendicular may increase from the front to the rear so that the sides become twisted planes.

In this application I have intended merely to set forth the principle upon which my.

, tended to show the only form, or perhaps even the best form in which experience may show that the plane should be shaped, and the4 accompanying claims are not intended to be limited to such form any 'further than is rendered necessary by the specific terms therein employed. L

Having thus described my inventiomwhat I claim is:

l. A plane for an air ship formed in the shape of an open-topped, openended trough that is narrowed at its front end.

2. A plane for an air ship formed in the shape of an open-topped, open-ended wedgeshaped trough.

3. A plane for an air ship formed in the shape of an open-topped wedge-shaped trough, the depth and width of said trough increasing from the front toward the rear,

said trough being. open-ended.

4:. In an air ship, the combination with a plane that is formed in the shape of an open -,topped, open-ended trough that is narrowed at its front end, of a propeller at the rear end of said trough, and means for driving said propeller.

5. In an air ship, the combination With a plane that is formedin the shape of an open-topped wedge-shaped' trough, ofbraces for holding the sides ofsaid trough rigidly,

a propeller at the rear of the trough, and

means for driving said propeller.

6. In an air ship, the combination with a plane formed Vin the shape of` an opentopped, open-ended wedge-shaped trough, a propeller at the rear of the trough, a car suspended from the plane, and a motor for Y,

driving said propeller..

l 7. A plane for an anship formed in the shape of an open-topped, open-ended wedgeshaped trough, the sides of which diverge outwardly from the bottom.

8. A plane for an air ship' formed in the shape of an open-topped, open-ended wedgeshaped trough, the sides of which diverge outwardly from the bottom and increase in depth from the front to the rear.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aiiix my si gnature in the presence of two Witnesses.4

JOSEPH A. VVILLIAMSl,r VVitnesses:

A. J. HUDSON, BRENNAN B. YVEs'r. 

